Quality of cherry ‘Sweetheart’ from different regions of Portugal and Spain (Cova da Beira, Portalegre and Valle del Jerte).

Sweet cherries (Prunus avium L.) ‘Sweetheart’ were harvested at different production regions from Portugal (Cova da Beira and Portalegre) and Spain (Valle de Jerte). Cherries were harvested at their commercial maturation according to the empirical knowledge of external color corresponding to good quality. Fruits were stored and evaluated in order to study their quality on the harvest day and during a period of 21 days, at cold storage (1 ºC, 95% RH). The sweet cherry ‘Sweetheart’ is a well known variety and a highly appreciated one but fruits present a short shelf life. On the other hand the effect of different “terroir” on cherry characteristics should be known and clarified. Fruits from day 0, considered without storage, were kept at 20ºC and analyzed. Every weak, 3 replicas were randomly picked up and 10 fruits from each one were submitted to several analyses after fruit temperature stabilized at 20ºC. Several quality parameters were evaluated: external color (L*, a*, b*), texture, soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and the ratio between soluble solid contents (SSC) and tritratable acidity (TA). Fruits from different orchards and locations were significantly different according to these parameters. Fruits from Cova da Beira were less firm comparing with other two regions, Valle de Jerte and Portalegre, which may indicate a higher maturation rate at harvest in those fruits. This is in accordance with SSC/titratable acidity rate suggesting a late harvest in Cova da Beira comparing with other two orchards, however fruits from Cova da Beira exhibit a poor color at harvest. These results clearly showed a lower correlation between SSC and firmness considering fruits origin

Evolution of Some Fruit Quality Parameters during Development and Ripening of Three Apricot Cultivars and Effect of Harvest Maturity on Postharvest Maturation

The objective of this study was to evaluate the fruit development, the quality at harvest and the shelf-life changes of three apricot cultivars—‘Spring Blush’, ‘Robada’, and ‘Kioto’—produced in the conditions of the Southwest Iberian Peninsula. Pomological characteristics and global quality (colour, firmness, total soluble solids, and total acidity) were weekly evaluated during fruit growth and ripening. Apricots were harvested at commercial ripening, and six and three days before, were tested for each harvest on the harvesting day and after three and five days of shelf-life at 20 °C, evaluating chlorophyll and carotenoids content and sensory quality. ‘Spring Blush’ was the earliest cultivar with a small calibre, and the change in colour was found to depend more on the evolution during the shelf-life than on the harvest date; although the panellists rated it well, it presented a significant lack of firmness for successful marketing. ‘Robada’ was the cultivar with the lowest evolution of colour, sugar and acid content, and it was the worst valued by tasters. In ‘Kioto’, differences in soluble solids, acidity, and colour were of high importance in the last days of development on the tree. ‘Kioto’ was the cultivar that showed the largest fruit size and colouring during the ripening on the tree, as well as the one with the highest overall quality that improves during shelf-life

Postharvest biology and technology of plum

Games can provide an effective and replicable space in which stakeholders learn skills necessary for deliberative and pluralist policymaking. These skills are especially important for “nexus” policy issues that are typically characterised by multiple, competing problem frames involving overlapping networks of stakeholders. In this position paper, we describe three serious games that serve as a space for players (stakeholders) and researchers to jointly explore alternative solutions to complex resource management issues: the Water-Food-Energy Nexus Game (Nexus Game); the Narubu Game of Many Voices (Narubu Game); and the Forest Governance Game (Forest Game). The games contain instructive and reflexive mechanisms that prompt players to self-discover common challenges associated with complex nexus issues, including conflicting institutional mandates, social dilemmas, contending worldviews, and plural interpretations of science